Traveling Companions

I want to answer some of the questions that I know are coming up as well trying to anticipate some of the questions people might ask once things get going. I will be updating as questions are asked more than once or twice. The easy way to search the page to see if a particular question has been asked is to hold the Ctrl key and hit F to bring up the “find” function in your browser. Then type in a key word to see if it appears on this page already. I will be adding menu of questions if the page starts to get too long.

I am leaving comments open on this page to allow new questions to be submitted. You can also email me at UUEvangelism@Gmail.com

Why do you need money?
To live on. This project is what I do with the time other people spend “at work”. For a few years, I was also a caregiver to my mother, and her disability required me to stay home, while her social security allowed me to work from home and not worry too much about money. My mother has been moved to a long-term care facility, and now I need to know if the work I’ve been doing can become the work that supports me and my family or not.

But, don’t you just run a blog and a Facebook page?Not really. I am building a website that I hope will be a resource for folks who want to learn about Unitarian Universalism and liberal religion, along with running a ministry through Facebook and other on-line channels, to help Unitarian Universalists (and Zig Ziglar) share liberal religion and UU Principles with the world. I spend hours a week reading sermons, blog posts, Facebook and Tumblr, books, magazines, and in personal reflection to bring great ideas to the project and make them sharable. I also spend hours designing images, writing blog posts and pages for the website, and managing the comments and connections of various social media channels, like the Facebook page. In short, I average 45 hours a week to make this project all that it is.

Isn’t $34, 000 a lot of money? How much do you really need?$34,000 is a lot of money for me and my family, but it is the salary that the UUA says the kind of work I am doing is worth as a full time job. It is my goal, because it will allow me the stability to move into taking speaking engagements and consulting, which means long-term stability that (hopefully) allows me to keep doing this work indefinitely. As I have laid out on the Goals and Promises page, I can keep doing the I Am UU project, with no loss or significant improvement in quality, for about $16,00o, or half the real goal. I need to know by May if that is actually possible.

What is in it for the people sending money?Firstly, I hope that people will learn how this page has been operating for years now as my gift to Unitarian Universalism, and that I can no longer afford to give it away, and want to help. I hope they will understand that this is what I want to be doing, and that I will continue to do it in whatever manner I can, and they will want to see it continue as it is now. I can promise them that I will use the security and mobility that comes with an income of my own to learn more about what UUs are doing and how it is working. I will buy more books and better software. I will use the money to improve myself in ways that will also improve the I Am UU project. Specific goals can be found on this page.

Why aren’t you using Faithify for this?I hope some of you are asking this question! For those who are unaware, Faithify.org is a crowd-funding platform built and run specifically to crowd fund projects that affirm and promote Unitarian Universalist values and help strengthen and share Unitarian Universalism in the world. I plan to use Faithify for the next step in my plan, which is to continue funding my work next year; I have hopes that I can start consulting and taking speaking engagements, and I will need money to fund traveling expenses until I start getting paid for those. I am also talking with Faithify about some exciting new offerings they hope to launch which I am not going to talk about just yet. Right now, GoFundMe has a better model to meet my needs.

Ok, but why GoFundMe?Because the GoFundMe platform is open-ended. I can set a goal for the whole year, and I can collect money until it is met. They put that money into an account immediately, and I can access it to cover my living expenses, which is what I need. If it takes me until May to get the point where I can afford to go to General Assembly, then the campaign is still there, and I can still get out money for rent or workshop fees in the mean time.

How does the money actually get from donors to you?GoFundMe charges your credit or debit card, just like making a purchase or paying a bill. GoFundMe uses an online financial services company call WePay to charge your card. WePay then holds that money in an account until I ask for it to be moved to me credit union. WePay is the same financial services company that is used by TFund, where we have been going for our bulk-print shirt sales, and Faithify. They are well respected and about as trustworthy as a financial services company gets.

Is this tax deductible?No. This is money going directly to me to help me keep doing my work. The I Am UU project is, currently, just a nom-de-plume and not a legal entity of any sort. I am not trying to turn it into a corporation, for profit or not, at this time because it would require a lot of extra time and money that would take away a lot more than it would be worth to me or the mission of the project.